ALONE WITH GOD     

  Babylon had been a golden cup in the Lord's hand in accomplishing his design in bringing evil upon Israel because of their iniquities. God Almighty himself brought Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldean hosts to Jerusalem, and through them he accomplished his will in destroying the Jewish polity (2 Chron. 36:17). God also used Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, during the captivity in fulfilling his will in many ways. But the time came when God set forth his hand and gathered all the children of Israel back to Zion and Jerusalem. The return of Israel from their captivity in Babylon to Zion and Jerusalem was a precious type of the return of the church from their captivity in spiritual sect Babylon to the new Jerusalem, the spiritual Zion, and mount of holiness. Thank God! this blessed gathering is now taking place.

  "And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. " Isa. 35: 8-10. " There shall be there a pure way, and it shall be called a holy way; and there shall not pass by there any unclean person, neither shall there be there an unclean way; but the dispersed shall walk on it, and they shall not go astray. And there shall be no lion there, neither shall any evil beast go up upon it, nor at all be found there; but the redeemed and gathered on the Lord's behalf, shall walk in it, and shall return, and come to Sion with joy, and everlasting joy shall be over their head; for on their heads shall be praise and exultation, and joy shall take possession of them: sorrow and pain, and groaning have fled away." Isa. 35: 8=10, LXX. On the pure way of holiness thousands are today returning to Zion—to the same Zion where the early church stood. Forsaking the confusion of sect Babylon, the redeemed of the Lord are returning to the same standard of unity, purity, and power that adorned the apostolic church.

  "Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away." Isa. 51:11. "But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions." Obadiah 17. "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.', Joel 3 :14, 1 6, 17. These texts have a present fulfillment.. Under the present judgments of truth, multitudes are being brought into the valley of decision, where they must decide either for or against God. Those who decide on the side of truth come to the mount of holiness, the mount of deliverance; and in this holy mount the Lord has made a feast of fat things, of wines on the lees.

  This gathering of God's people out of sect Babylon back to Zion, into one fold, was foretold by Ezekiel as follows: " Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. For thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon tire high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment. And I will malice them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. " Ezek. 34 :10-12, 14, 16, 26. This very beautifully sets forth the " present truth. " The preachers of Babylon have scattered God's flock, but the time has arrived when the Lord is seeking out his sheep. He is gathering them out of all places where they have been scattered, and is bringing them to their own fold—a good fold.

  "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers. false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." 2 Tim. 3: 1 5. This is a perfect picture of fallen Babylon today. Sectism is filled with men and women who are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, people who have only a mere form godliness. What are God's people who are yet scattered there commanded to do ? What saith the Scripture? "From such withdraw thyself: from such turn away. " No honest soul can remain there after hearing this solemn command. They must forsake the ruins and abide in Christ alone. Some precious souls when they hear the voice from heaven to come out of sectism, refuse to obey, and in consequence they go into darkness.

  "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness ? And what concord hath Christ with Belial ? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of tile living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will] receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. " 2 Cor. 6: 14-18. Every sect institution yokes up believers with unbelievers. They try to mix: light with darkness. The command from heaven to every child of God in there is, "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord. "

  The ministers of God in these last days are " blowing the trumpet in Zion, " and the call of God is reaching the people of God in sectarian captivity. Jesus says, " My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me." Thus God is gathering his people into a perfect unity, and preparing the bride for the coming of the bridegroom. To such as have their hearts wrapped up in friends who will not obey the truth, God says, "Remember Lot's wife."

  "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense." Jer. 51: 6. "My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord. " Jer. 51: 45. " And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. " Rev. 14: 8-11. "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her." Rev. 18: 1-5, 8.

  All this is present truth. One angel in these texts stands for the entire ministry of the time. These flying messengers are God's holy ministers in these last days, who are trumpeting to all nations the solemn warnings from heaven. This is a time of the Lord's vengeance against all false religions of earth. He has set his hand to gather out his people, and to prepare his church, so that she may be presented holy, without spot or wrinkle, when he comes. This is not our word and work, but a voice from heaven says in solemn tones of warning, ŇFlee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul." " Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." "lf any man worship the beast [popery] and his image [Protestantism], the same shall be tormented forever and ever." Thousands have already heard that voice and obeyed. Halleluiah! Every child of God will be gathered out before Jesus comes. Thousands of others, however, who seemed to be pillars, have heard that voice hut would not obey. The result is, God has had to sacrifice them in order to get a pure church. They chose to cling with the ruins of Babylon rather than to be identified with the holy remnant. All such have received of her plagues — "death, mourning, famine." By not obeying the truth' such lose all spiritual life, are cut off from union with God, and help to compose the dead carcass of fallen sectism. Beloved friend, this work is of God. To oppose it is to throw open your soul to deceptive spirits and to drift into the very state and condition above described.

  As before stated, after the children of Israel forsook literal Babylon, it underwent many great wars and ravages and finally became a sort of zoological garden, a habitation of all kinds of birds and beasts. The following scriptures describe its condition: "And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged." Isa. 13:19=22. "And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant. " Jer. 51: 37.

  All this was a type. That very condition of literal Babylon is the condition of spiritual Babylon today, since God is delivering his people out of her. Just as that ancient city fell and became a dwelling place of dragons, doleful creatures, etc.; so sect Babylon "the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird" (Rev. 18: 2). Sectarians may consider this strong, but it is the eternal truth; and present facts, as seen by the pure in heart, prove that the above is a perfect picture of the great babel of sectism. All who cling to their false religions and refuse to forsake their sinful sects are slain and cut off by the Word of God and compose this great spiritual carcass preyed upon by evil spirits. Thousands who in the past were bright lights' when they hear the voice from heaven to come out of her, close their ears to the truth and go into darkness. These are cut off and slain. Oh, what a slaughter is now going on! This awful work has been foretold by the prophets of old.

  "For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcasses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. " Verses 2, 3. "For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many." Isa. 66: 15, 16. " Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood." Jer. 48: 10. "Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them." Jer. 5: 14. " Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart. The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the Lord shall devour from the one end of the land, even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace." Jer. 12:10-12.

  What an awful picture, yet how true! The sword of the Lord which smites the nations and devours from one end of the land to the other, and which is said to be filled with blood, is " the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph. 6: 17). God's holy messengers are blowing the trumpet in Zion, and this calls together the elect from the four winds—Babylon confusion (Joel 2: 1; Matt. 24: 30-33; Zech. 2: 6, 7). All who refuse to be gathered are slain by the sword of the Lord. Those slain are said to be "many." This great slaughter is also called a `'sacrifice," because many of them possessed noble attributes and were even mighty through God; but when the whole truth was presented, they would not get saved from the last spot of sin and sectism; therefore God had to sacrifice them to evil spirits in order to get a pure church. The rams, lambs, bullocks, etc., show that the parties were, in the main, offerings to God on the altar of his grace. The thousands thus being slain compose a carcass—a dead putrefying mess of fallen religionists. Thus saith the Lord: "For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together." Matt. 24:28.

  This no doubt reached a fulfillment at the destruction of Jerusalem. The Jews composed the carcass; the Roman hosts, the eagles that gathered together to consume the carcass. This looks very probable, since the eagles were the very standards of the army which did desolate the city. But it is clear to our mind that the text has a twofold signification, and that it was to reach its true fulfillment just prior to the end, as it is used in such close connection with the coming of the Son of man. The word " eagles " is more correctly rendered "vultures" in the New Version. The basis of the language is a dead, putrefying body, the scent of which attracts the vultures and other birds, and boasts of prey. The lesson or application of this figure is highly spiritual.

  "And the carcasses of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away." Jer. 7: 33. " Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured." Ezek. 39: 4. " And thou son of main, thus saith the Lord God: Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord God. " Ezek. 39: 17-20.

  The stink which comes out of the carcasses (spiritual carcasses) of the thousands in Babylon who have been slain by the sword of truth attracts myriads of " delusive spirits. " The condition of fallen sectism is surely a stench in the nostrils of God. It is offensive to every sanctified soul. These spiritual carcasses shall be inhabited by " monsters, " " fowls, " etc. In them "devils have found for themselves a place of rest." This perfectly harmonizes with the description given in Rev. 18: 2. Different kinds of birds and foul spirits being grouped together in these texts carry our minds back to the ruins of ancient Babylon, which was a hold of all manner of birds and beasts, and which clearly typified the swarm of unclean and deceptive spirits which throng sectism today.

  There is another solemn fact I wish to call the reader's attention to before leaving this point. This work gives us data to calculate our whereabouts on the stream of time. "All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling-place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in tile flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning-hooks, and take away and cut down the branches. They shall be left together unto the fowls of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them. " Isa. 18: 3-6. This time has come. The ensign —Christ—is lifted up—a token for the people to gather unto him. The trumpet of truth is being blown. "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand. " Ah! a sign that the clay of the Lord is nigh at hand. A clear heat is produced in the church, his dwelling-place. Judgment is executed, and a pruning-time has come. Sprigs and branches are cut off and taken away; namely, " every branch that beareth not fruit he taketh away" (John 15: 2). These cut-off branches (dead professors) "shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth. " This is the very work described in the many texts already cited. But when was it all to be accomplished ? Just " afore the harvest "—just before the end. Reader, we are living in that very time.